To catch snowflakes, Walter held out a piece of black cardboard during a light snowfall.

A feather was used to lift the snowflakes off the board. The method of using a feather came from a 1925 article written by Wilson Bentley, a Vermont farmer who began photographing snowflakes in 1885.

The snowflake was centered on a glass microscope slide which was taped to a metal frame that could be accurately positioned beneath the camera lens.

Working in an unheated barn kept the snowflakes from melting. However, Walter had to work quickly because the snowflakes evaporated rapidly in the dry air. The frame was fit into a holder in front of a 32mm micro lens. The camera was an 8X10 with a 120 film back adapter. The light was a strobe bounced off a mirror and through a piece of blue gel to provide background color.

The resulting photo captured the snowflake in astonishing detail! Click on the picture to see a close-up.


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